Mission / History

Mission

The MISSION of THE HARVARD STATE BANK is to provide PROFESSIONAL quality, SERVICE to our CUSTOMERS, COMMUNITY, and SHAREHOLDERS.

Our History

Harvard, Illinois is steeped in history. As a small Midwestern town with a one of a kind family feel, we know what it means to be part of a community. From our early beginnings in 1866 to today we are proud of who we are and what made us such a great success.

On August 6, 1866, there were no banks in McHenry County. Mr. J.C. Crumb realized that Harvard needed a bank to facilitate the economic growth of Harvard and the surrounding area so he started The Harvard Bank. It was known as The Harvard Bank until October 13, 1919, when the word “State” was added to its name and it was incorporated. When it started, it was located right across the street from where it presently stands in a feed store owned by Mr. Crumb. Our first banking relationship started two days after we officially opened. In 1923, the building on the corner of Brainard and Ayer Street was completed and the Bank moved across the street. On its 75th Anniversary, in 1941, Mr. William Hubbell was President and he was only the third President in 76 years. Mr. Burley Galvin was the Cashier. In 150 years, there have only been nine Presidents of The Harvard State Bank.

Additional milestones include:

In 1967, we incorporated Trust Powers within our organization. In 1985 the first ATM was introduced in Harvard and the Bank's customers were introduced to Electronic Banking. Electronic Banking continued to expand to include Internet Banking, Bill Pay, Telephone Banking, Remote Deposit, Debit Cards and the Mobile App. The Bank continues to look for more ways to serve our customer's financial needs. In December of 1995, The Harvard State Bank opened its first in-store branch location inside the Sullivan Foods grocery store. On February 17, 2010 the Super Branch moved from the Sullivan Foods grocery store to a stand alone building! This location offers customers the convenience of extended evening and weekend hours to better meet the demands of the customers. In August of 2001, The Harvard State Bank bought Hebron State Bank and it became known as The Hebron Community Financial Center, A Division of The Harvard State Bank, now known as The Harvard State Bank. Not only is this facility open six days a week, but is able to offer a wider variety of products and services. In July of 2009, The Harvard State Bank acquired what was formally known as Rock River bank. With this acquisition came three new locations. They consist of a main bank in Oregon, and a drive-up facility as well as a branch in Rockford. They are now called The Harvard State Bank.

Through the years, The Harvard State Bank has led the way with safe and sound business principles; helpful, friendly customer relations; and state of the art banking plans and developments. We offer ATM service in a number of locations; a wide variety of checking, savings and money market accounts; a complete loan department offering a wide variety of mortgages and Home Equity Lines of Credit; a full-service Trust Department offering discount brokerage, estate planning, land trusts; telephone banking; our own credit cards with reward packages. We also have our Hometown Checks, which are printed in-house providing the customer with a cost-effective, timely way to get their checks.

Our new site adjusts to whatever device you're using, making your online banking even easier!